Employment falls in Bradford as pay rises to £2,349 a month
WageSight Wire · Jul 2026
- Employment
- 217,492 workers (June 2026)
- Monthly change
- -0.0% (-50 workers)
- Annual change
- -123 workers
- Median pay
- £2,349/month (YoY: +4.6%, £104 more in cash terms)
- Total pay bill
- +4.3% on the year
- Real pay vs Feb 2022
- +£97 better off in real terms
Payrolled employment in Bradford was broadly stable in June 2026, with 217,492 workers on payroll, 123 fewer than a year ago, with the monthly figure broadly unchanged.
Across Yorkshire and The Humber, payrolled employment was broadly flat, down 0.2% over the year to June 2026. Bradford ranked 5th of 12 sub-regional areas in Yorkshire and The Humber by employment change over the past year.
The median pay packet for workers in Bradford stood at £2,349 in June 2026, up 4.6% over the past year and ahead of inflation at 2.82%. After a period of sharp inflation from 2022 that eroded real earnings, wages have been recovering. Workers in Bradford are now £97 a month better off in real terms than in February 2022, when median earnings stood at £1,793 a month. The total pay bill in Bradford rose 4.3% over the year, faster than headcount, suggesting average earnings per worker are improving.
Nationally, payrolled employment was broadly flat, down 0.2% over the year to June 2026. Across the UK, 599,257 workers entered payrolled employment in May 2026, the most recently available flow data, while 596,423 left, a net gain of 2,834 workers.
“Employers in Bradford have reported a significant dip in payroll in the latest figures. It's too early to tell if this is businesses bracing agains the impact of the current economic uncertainty on inflation. On the flip side, wages for those in work continues to surge. The positive story is that workers in Bradford are seeing their pay packets grow. That's money in people's pockets, and it matters for local businesses and public services. But there will be understandable concern at the employment picture.”
— Paul Hebden, Campaign Salience
Yorkshire and The Humber — employment and pay
| # | Area | Workers | Jobs (yr) | Median pay | Pay (yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hull | 122,764 | +0.3% | £2,407 | +5.6% |
| 2 | York | 93,782 | +0.2% | £2,536 | +4.9% |
| 3 | East Riding of Yorkshire | 148,229 | +0.2% | £2,535 | +5.0% |
| 4 | Leeds | 374,033 | +0.0% | £2,566 | +4.4% |
| 5 | Bradford | 217,492 | -0.1% | £2,349 | +4.6% |
| 6 | North and North East Lincolnshire | 142,843 | -0.1% | £2,440 | +5.5% |
| 7 | Doncaster | 135,268 | -0.2% | £2,439 | +5.0% |
| 8 | Calderdale and Kirklees | 273,619 | -0.2% | £2,459 | +4.6% |
| 9 | Wakefield | 160,042 | -0.5% | £2,555 | +4.5% |
| 10 | Barnsley | 106,577 | -0.5% | £2,456 | +5.0% |
| 11 | Rotherham | 113,503 | -0.7% | £2,442 | +4.6% |
| 12 | Sheffield | 271,863 | -0.8% | unknown | unknown |
Notes to editors
Figures from WageSight, derived from ONS / HMRC PAYE Real Time Information. Full method at wagesight.com/methodology.
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